The present invention relates to the assembly of rotatable shafts and the components that are mounted upon them. The support shafts that hold cylindrical components used for conveying articles have to be located in an axial relationship to the support frames or members that hold them. Typically, the axial relationship of such cylindrical components or assemblies that are used for conveying objects are aligned with other similar components in machinery. The tolerance buildup of the components from one assembly to another may mean that the alignment is actually mis-aligned, thereby causing problems in the conveying or transport of the articles that are moving on them. In the past, there have been numerous ways to overcome this problem, such as machining a flat upon the shaft, and then machining the mounted cylindrical hardware to fit a setscrew or other locking member to attach to the flatted shaft. The machining of the shaft is expensive and labor intensive, as is applying the setscrew or other locking device. In addition, a setscrew design tends to pull the inner portion of the part being added to the support shaft to one side, thereby creating an out of round assembly. Also, burrs on the shaft may present further problems in disassembling or reassembling the shaft components.
Another way of locating such assemblies or cylindrical components is with the use of e-clips, or e-rings. The use of a tri-lobe or d-shaped shaft will fit the components being added with a similar designed aperture; however, there will be an undesired amount of free play between the shaft and the added components. This is not tolerable in critical transport or conveying situations where articles are expected to arrive at scheduled locations at particular times and increments of time. So, this prior art design is labor-intensive, requiring lathe set-up to machine grooves in the support shafts, and at assembly, installing the e-clips upon the shaft. In addition, there may be reliability problems associated with the concentricity, and expected transport results from this type of assembly. There may be a further complication unless due care is taken in the design of the support shaft since cutting grooves into the shaft may affect a stress condition, and an unpredictable failure, especially with the application of heavy loading upon the cylindrical member and its support shaft.
For these reasons, the present invention has evolved, and will eliminate assembly and tolerance problems related to concentricity, axial positioning of the added shaft components, and stress related failures. There are no grooves required in the support shafts with the use of the principles of the present invention, and the assembly of the cylindrical components on a support shaft is simplified and reliable. In addition, there are no setscrews, or machining of the support shaft, other than those required for automatic lathe processing.
The present invention may be utilized in all sorts of conveying machinery where there are roller assemblies mounted on support shafts, that are in turn supported in frames or support structure of the machinery. The present invention is designed to provide a highly accurate concentric assembly of components added to transport or conveying shafting where the support shaft rotates with the assembly attached. The present invention eliminates the need for cutting grooves in the support shafts or machining flats or other locating areas on the mounting or support shafts. The present invention also eliminates the need to apply devices such as e-rings or e-clips to then locate the assembly along a specific axial position on the shaft. This is particularly useful in high-speed paper conveying machinery, or other equipment that requires highly accurate timing and location of the transport devices to insure reliability.
The present invention concerns locking and locating cylindrical components or roller sleeves on a support shaft to facilitate anti-rotation of the components or sleeves on the shaft. The cylindrical components are typical such as conveying rollers or transport rollers that are manufactured as sleeve assemblies utilized to move and convey articles along a transport path. The locking and locating feature is an anti-rotation device that is accomplished through the use of at least one pair of over-running clutches or one-way clutches that are assembled into a prepared cavity located along the axis of the cylindrical component. The axial cavity may be a bore, or concentric bores located at both axial ends of the cylindrical component. Each over running clutch or one-way device is pressed into the cavity at either end of the cylindrical component so that each clutch faces an opposite direction. When the cylindrical component or roller sleeve is installed on the support shaft, the components of the over running clutches or one-way devices lock against the support shaft and each other, thereby providing an assembly that is rotatable as one unit; the cylindrical component further being axially positionable to a predetermined location on the support shaft.
The above background and brief description of the advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which: